How philosophy teaches humility

The “problem of other minds” can restrain us from inappropriate condemnations

Be kind and compassionate to one another, forgiving each other, just as in Christ God forgave you. —Ephesians 4:32

This Friday’s spiritual reflection highlights the implications of a topic your pastor has probably never preached on: the problem of other minds. Be patient with the philosophy. The practical application comes at the end.

Philosophers have long observed that we have no way to be certain that anyone else actually has a mind, because we can experience only our own thinking. The people around us seem to be like us. But if I insisted that I was the sole subject of a massive experiment and that all other people were only puppets in the hands of a master experimenter—a possibility I seriously entertained during my mentally disturbed teenage years—you would have no way to prove otherwise.

Despite our inability to actually get into other people’s heads, our daily mental observations reassure us that other people have minds like ours. They talk to us just as we talk to them. They move their bodies or respond to physical stimuli as we do. Their actions appear to be the conscious result of intelligent thinking.

So we must all have minds. But we can also perceive that our minds are not all the same. Some people can do advanced math and others cannot. Some people program their bodies to perform incredible athletic or music performance feats that others can only dream of. Some don’t respond to stimuli in generally expected ways due to chronic illness, physical limitations, or altered states of consciousness. Some can’t comprehend or communicate as we might expect due to a learning disability or dementia.

These observations point to an important principle: since we can never fully know what someone else is thinking, we should not rush to assume that their experience is like ours. Maybe, when they don’t do something, it’s because they can’t, not because they are willfully refusing.

Some aspects of our societies recognize this. Judicial systems declare people not responsible for a crime by reason of insanity. Educational systems do not punish behavior outbursts that they believe children can’t control.

But often, we act as if other people’s minds are just like ours. As a result, we fail to show grace and forbearance when we should.

If a friend fails to do something, do we become angry with them or consider that maybe they got distracted and just forgot?

When a child doesn’t study well, is it necessarily the child’s fault, or might they have an attention deficit disorder?

If someone at church is mired in depression, should we just tell them to “snap out of it” or should we show greater empathy with a mental anguish we cannot fully understand?

Two gifted Christians have expressed with deep emotion what I am trying to explain conceptually here. I highly recommend Rick Warren’s discussion of his son Matthew’s mental illness (starting 18 minutes into the interview) and Patricia Paddey’s February 22 post on supporting her husband through dementia.

Two applications: (1) be gracious before rushing to punish or criticize people for weaknesses that may not be their fault; (2) look for ways in which your mind is the odd one and submit to the wisdom of others in those areas.

The problem of other minds is not just a philosophical riddle. It’s a daily reality that should cause us to think carefully about how we treat others and when grace, forbearance, and patient instruction are better tools than discipline or rebuke.